Written by Howard Hockin
I saw Gary Neville in the Sky studio one match day last year – I think it’s the only time he has been there, I may be very wrong. He seemed harmless enough. He gave some opinions which seemed vaguely sensible, his moustache had gone, I quite liked his suit to be honest, and he didn’t say anything too controversial. His trousers weren’t as tight as Jamie Redknapp’s, and he didn’t say “you can’t raise your hands” a single time, but with a bit of media training that can be sorted out. If I didn’t know who he was, I’d say he seemed quite well suited for the role.
Sadly (or not), all this is irrelevant. Gary Neville could be the most eloquent man to walk the land since Oscar Wilde. He could have the charisma of Jack Nicholson, the style of David Beckham, the wit of a young Woody Allen, the oratory skills of Winston Churchill and the tactical insight of Herbert Chapman. It matters not one jot.
And it matters not one jot because Gary Neville doesn’t like a large chunk of the English population, and has said so publically. And more to the point, the feeling is mutual.
Very mutual.
“I can’t stand Liverpool, I can’t stand Liverpool people, I can’t stand anything to do with them,” reported in the Guardian.
So said Mr Neville once. Such was his vitriol of all things Liverpool in a interview once his dad had to step in to try and calm him down, turning off the interviewer’s tape recorder, to which Gary responded: “But I do hate them Dad.”
You might think this puerile hatred of a whole city and all its people is a bit laughable and not worth worrying over. But this small matter would somewhat compromise his role as a neutral observer of football matches. Could you rely on Gary Neville to comment on how excellently Liverpool played or how City totally outplayed Manchester United (it’s a hypothetical question, ok?)?
To be honest, I’m not going to lose sleep over this decision. I don’t watch pre-match build ups, or half-time analysis – it’s the football, and the football alone that I am interested in. I couldn’t believe how sexist remarks from two football pundits dominated the news for over a week – it just wasn’t that big a story, THEY are not that big a story. But hey, maybe it would be quite good fun watching Neville squirm and have to compliment teams he hates. Maybe he’ll be the consummate professional and be totally unbiased. I can’t see it myself.
But last Wednesday the news came through that Gary Neville was retiring with immediate effect, mid-season. And the whole of Liverpool, half of Manchester and a fair swathe of the rest of the country simultaneously muttered “uh-oh”.
There’s bias in many studio guests – they often have affiliations with specific teams (usually playing that day), and so you might think it’s unfair to single out Neville. But when a player has been so public with his hatred of a set of football fans, it goes further than having a simple bias. It alienates viewers, and it compromises his ability to do his job properly, and professionally.
I can’t see Sky taking that risk. But if Dean Windass can be employed as a reporter, anything’s possible. I have seen written and heard of at least a hundred people saying the day he becomes a Sky employee they will cancel their subscription – this seems like nothing more than bravado to me, and a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, but the anger truly is there at the thought of him being in the studio. Not that Sky would care, whoever they employ will outrage someone. And they appeared to be trying to soften us all up at the weekend by running an interview with Neville, which to be honest did him no favours.
Of course he may be kept away from teams he despises. And if Paul the Apostle could stop persecuting Christians and follow Jesus instead, maybe Gary can forgive Scousers and blue Mancunians and himself take on a road to Damascus journey and come out a changed man. (13:6 And he did come to a crossroads. And the Lord said seek forgiveness and make peace with your fellow man. And Gary did make peace, and great rewards were delivered from the sky, and from BBC too). Then again, I might pop up to the attic tonight and discover Lord Lucan hiding behind the immersion heater with a copy of Nuts magazine.
The answer to me is clear. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt, planted a flag in the centre circle. Speaks with honesty, knowledge, knows what he’s talking about, speaks his mind, and appeared to despise Richard Keys. He too had a moustache, but a proper one. Step forward, Graeme Souness.
This article was first published on FootballFanCast.com
